Cleveland Mall

Cleveland's Mall is a 26-acre civic center in downtown Cleveland, made up of an open mall about 1,500 feet long and 500 feet wide and seven large public buildings around it. The Federal Building and the Public Library close the south end, while the Cuyahoga County Court House and City Hall face each other near Lakeside Avenue. The Public Auditorium, Board of Education building and a Library annex sit along East Sixth Street. Most are in Beaux-Arts classical style with rusticated ground stories and colonnades. The layout follows a 1903 report by the Group Plan Commission, made up of Daniel Burnham, John Carrere and Arnold Brunner. The nomination describes it as probably the earliest and most elaborate civic center plan outside Washington, D.C., when conceived. Nearly all of the commission's recommendations were carried out between 1903 and 1935, with the railroad station at the north end the major exception. An underground convention center and a memorial fountain were added in the 1960s.